Let’s start with this: telecommunications fraud isn’t new. Since phone systems were invented centuries ago, there has always been a very small — but not insignificant, and certainly not harmless — segment of the population that has sought to exploit them, in order to benefit improperly or illegally.
Growing Costs
However, what has changed in recent years is the growing cost and prevalence of telecommunications fraud. A recent survey by the Communications Fraud Control Association (CFCA), a not-for-profit global education organization, pegged worldwide telecommunications fraud losses in 2017 at $29.2 billion. The CFCA also listed the top 10 methods that fraudsters use to breach telecommunications systems:
- Subscription Fraud (Identity)
- PBX Hacking
- IP PBX Hacking
- Subscription Fraud (Application)
- Subscription Fraud (Credit Muling/Proxy)
- Abuse of Service Terms and Conditions
- Account Takeover
- Internal Fraud/Employee Theft
- Phishing/Pharming
- Payment Fraud
How We’re Protecting Our Customers
At Carolina Digital Phone, we have recently strengthened our enhanced and comprehensive telecommunications fraud management program, which is offered to all of our customers. Key features include:
- Monitoring all outbound traffic to detect anomalies at the automatic number identification (ANI) level.
- Automatically blocking suspicious calling that may be the result of subscription fraud, IP PBX hacking, abuse of service terms and conditions, internal fraud, employee theft, phishing, pharming, and payment fraud.
- Implementing customized system rules using conditional criteria, which are based on known fraud trends and tactics.
- Flagging calls to/from numbers linked to confirmed fraud cases noted in industry-wide “hot lists.”
- Creating and scoring profiles based on key risk indicators, such as volume, dialed destination, etc.
- Analyzing robocalls by researching and analyzing each telephone number, and accessing carrier and consumer reports.
- Automatically notifying customers if fraudulent activity is suspected or detected.
These methods integrate with the system security management strategies and best practices that we implement for our customers.
The Bottom Line
At Carolina Digital Phone, nothing — we repeat, nothing — is more important than protecting the security of our customers, and ensuring they get full value for their telecommunications system. To that end, we will continue making investments and evolving our fraud management program, and are proud to lead the way on this mission-critical issue.
To learn more about what we do to keep our customers safe and secure 24/7/365, contact us today at (336) 544-4000. Your consultation is free, and our experience is your advantage!